Jillian Detweiler will return to Portland City Hall next month after a 12-year sojourn with TriMet, and the 48-year-old said she's excited to work again for the city she loves.

"I've had a great opportunity here at TriMet," Detweiler, the transit agency's director of real estate said on Wednesday. But Detweiler said she's excited at the chance to take that experience and apply it while working for Mayor Charlie Hales. She described the move as "an extraordinary opportunity."

Detweiler worked for then-commissioner Hales from 1995 until he left the City Council mid-term for the private sector in 2002. Those were "much more humble assignments," she said, saying her duties were staff liaison to the planning and building bureaus.

Detweiler said she most appreciates Hales' energy and his desire to have strong debate among staffers on policy issues.

Outgoing policy director Ed McNamara called Detweiler two weeks ago, carrying a strong endorsement from the mayor and and an inquiry: Would you like to return to City Hall? She said yes.